It is one of the more powerful melee type weapons as it has been known to slice the head off of opponents with a single slice and is not as heavy as the cumbersome chainsaw. It can also kill pedestrians by stabbing if cutting their heads off won't work. One note of interest is in 1998, Toni Cipriani and Kazuki Kasen engage in a duel on the roof of the Big Shot Casino with katanas (though the player may choose to use other weapons.) Snakehead and CJ engage in a similar duel, which, again, allows the player to simply pull out a firearm and finish the job quickly.